50 HOUGH'S AMERICAN WOODS. 



170. PINUS MURICATA, DON. 

 PRICKLE-CONE PINE, CAL. SWAMP PINE, BISHOP'S PINE, OBISPO PINE. 



Ger., Calif ornische Sumpffichte; Fr., Pin de mariasj Sp., Pino de 



pantano. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTERS: Leaves in pairs, rigid, 3-6 in. long, serrulate and with 

 sheaths 1 to f in. long at first, but finally much shorter, bracts lightly fringed 

 and subpersistent. Flowers staminate anients about 1 in. long. Cones sessile, 

 spreading and more or less recurved, mostly in whorls of from 3-7, very oblique 

 ovoid of a chestnut-brown color, 2-3| in. long and 1^-2 in. thick, the scales on the 

 outer (longer) side with very prominent recurved tubercles, those of the opposite 

 side being quite flat and all armed with a short, sharp and stout curved prickle. 

 These cones often remain tightly closed for years before liberating their seeds,* 

 which are about in. long, black, grooved and rough, with wing | in. or slightly 

 more in length, widest above the middle; cotyledons, 4-5. 



(The specific name, muricata, is the Latin for prickly.) 



Under most favorable conditions the Prickle-cone Pine rarely attains 

 the height of 150 ft. (45 m.), with a trunk 5 or 6 ft. (1.80 m.) in 

 diameter, but usually it is a slender, medium-sized tree, of not over 

 half the above dimensions, with wide, rounded top of dense, dark- 

 green foliage. The bark of trunk is of a chocolate-brown color, more 

 or less grayish on weather-beaten surfaces, and with long, very promi- 

 nent and quite firm ridges, sometimes 6 inches or more in thickness, 

 while at the bottoms of the fissures the bark may be no more than 1-8 

 in. in thickness. 



HABITAT. California, along the coast from Mendocino County 

 southward to San Luis Obispo County, in swampy soil or on bluffs 

 close along the coast, and frequently bathed with moisture from the 

 ocean. 



PHYSICAL PROPERTIES. Wood light, strong, coarse-grained, com- 

 pact and of a pink, lightish-brown color, with thick, lighter sap-wood. 

 ^Specific Gravity, 0.4942; Percentage of Ash, 0.26; Relative Approx- 

 imate Fuel Value, 0.4929; Coefficient of Elasticity, 119357; Modu- 

 lus of Rupture, 1031; Resistance to Longitudinal Pressure, 509; 

 .Resistance to Indentation, 122; Weight of a Cubic Foot in Pounds, 

 30.80. 



USES. Not abundant enough to be extensively used, but makes 

 good ordinary lumber for general construction purposes, etc. 



MEDICINAL PROPERTIES are those common to the genus. 



GENUS TSUGA, CARRIERE 



Leaves petiolate and articulated on permanent bases, flat in most species, 

 appearing two rank, whitened beneath, with a single dorsal resin-duct, ever- 



*Prof. J. G Lemmon states (West American Cone-bearers, p. 43) that "The cones have been 

 known to remain unopened for 20-30 years, then to release good seeds." 



